Reds fans were superb...

... but I never rated Craig

Alun Thomas meets Robin Gibson

BACKGROUND AND SETTING:

On 1 February, high-flying Dr Martens Premier League Stafford Rangers, featuring former Wrexham favourite Robin Gibson, visited lowly Grantham Town. With an article for Red Passion in mind, I rang Stafford's secretary the previous week to arrange a chat with Robin after the game. Robin, I was informed, is 'a nice lad' who would be happy to oblige. I borrowed a dictaphone and rolled up at the game with my Dad, who as a former Wrexham winger had more in common with Gibbo than many!

I won't dwell on the game itself too much but the Stafford's no.11's close control, ability to beat his full-back and striking of dead balls showed him to be a cut above the rest. Robin generally had a quiet game but some pugnacious tackling, a couple of thumping headers and a booking personified his involvement. He laid on Stafford's prompt equaliser after Grantham had taken an early lead, beating two men before laying the ball back to no fewer than five unmarked teammates who had time to draw straws to decide who was going to score. 

At half-time I buttonholed a Stafford fan who said he thought Robin Gibson was the best player Stafford had on their books. His mate said he had good days and bad days. I suppose they could both be right. Stafford's winner, early in the second half, came from Dennis Bailey, whom you may recall scoring a hat-trick for QPR in a televised game at Old Trafford in 1992. This was the prelude to a lengthy spell of keep-ball by the visitors towards the final whistle during which Mr Gibson was much to the fore!

At the end I asked Dad to find a quiet table away from the bar while I nipped down to the tunnel, dodged the octogenarian steward and collared Robin as he came off to OK the arrangement. He readily agreed and ordered a pint of Coke. Our conversation went thus:

Robin, thanks for agreeing to talk to us. Possibly not your best performance of the season today, but you made some telling contributions. I understand that last week you ran half the length of the pitch before scoring against Hinckley. Does it occur to you that you are too good for this standard of football?
'(Laughing) Actually it was three-quarters of the pitch! Yes, I'm gagging to get back into the League. I really am desperate. Stafford have given me a good opportunity to play first-team football and it's all right, this standard, but I don't want to be here long. I'm contracted, though, so I'll honour that.'

How long is the contract for?

'Another year after this - it was the only thing I had available because things were so quiet - clubs weren't spending money. The money's alright here but it's not really about money, I just want to get back into the League.'

So you didn't have any offers from the League or the Conference?
'When Brian Flynn took over at Swansea, they were interested, but they didn't really have the money at the club to bring in new players, otherwise I would be at Swansea now. That's how it goes.

Was it a shock when Wrexham released you? I thought this might be a big season for you.
'It was a big shock, yes. But Denis Smith was playing Carlos, and Carlos was doing well, so you can't say I should have been picked instead of him. That's how football goes. I have no axe to grind with Denis Smith. I was working hard, doing what I could, but it wasn't enough.'

Do you think you suffered a loss of form?
'Because I was in and out of the reserves, my form possibly dropped to reserve team level.'

Do you regard yourself as a winger or a wide midfield player?
'A winger, I think I'd say.'

Do you think that as an out-and-out winger, you were neither Flynn's nor Smith's type of player? One a midfield grafter, the other a defender - perhaps they'd suffered at the hands of wingers in the past or regard them as expensive luxuries?
'I think Brian Flynn liked me - but because he'd paid money for the Trinidad lads, I don't know, perhaps he felt obliged to play them. I don't know all the background, but the first season they were here, Carlos and Hector were flying. But people get to know them, and now Hector's in and out of the team. However, Carlos has now found his position, right wing-back. I think he's doing all right. I've seen a few games at Wrexham, he's tackling now, and winning a few in the air! I would say Flynnie liked me, and Denis liked me to an extent, but I just don't think I fitted into his long-term plans. There was the financial situation as well.'

I find it hard to think of any wingers who have made successful managers. Any thoughts?
'I can't think of any off-hand.'

Maybe Steve Coppell, who started as a winger?
'Yes - but a lot of players start as wingers and end up in midfield. They don't stay as wingers long. What about Karl Connolly - what would you say he was?'

You say you've been to a few games at the Racecourse …?
'I follow their results now and again, yeah...'

Would you say you were a fan?
'Well they were my first professional club, so I'll look and see how they're doing. I keep in touch with the lads as well.'

How do you think they'll finish up this season?
'They're losing against the little clubs and doing well against the bigger ones - they need to start grinding out results.'

Did you, or do you still, read Red Passion?
'Oh yes. I don't read it now, because I can't really get it, but I do read it when I go up to Wrexham.'

Best Wrexham moment?
'Middlesbrough!'

Say no more! You've already mentioned Flynn, Smith and the Trinidadians - any thoughts on Rooster?
'Rooster's top man - he still wanted to be one of the lads when he became management staff but he realised he had to choose one or the other. I think he's doing a good job there now - he's a strict coach.'

Joey?
'Top man - I don't have a bad word to say about him. He was brilliant, helped me through a lot when I was a trainee, or injured, he was there for me all the time. Absolutely brilliant - top man!'

Trundle?
'I think people are finding out about him, but with the skills he's got no-one can really touch him.'

Ferguson?
'I think Daz is having one of his best seasons - he's running the show, the engine of the team at the moment. I think a lot of fans expected him to leave after relegation, but he's proved that he's a bigger man than they thought. It takes a lot to do that. He might have had other offers - we don't know. It takes a big man to stay and finish the job he's come to do.'

Morrell?
'Absolutely on fire - the man of the moment!'

What about Faulconbridge?
'Erm...Craig was all right, but I never really thought much of him as a footballer. He didn't really have the heart, unlike Morrell who will run through brick walls for you. Faulcs would pussyfoot or fanny around - he wasn't my kind of forward. But I think he's all right at Wycombe.'

One of my favourite Robin Gibson memories was the look on your face, and the faces of the other players, after the must-win game at Cambridge last season immediately following the Hereford debacle. It showed the players wanted it as much as the fans - but did you genuinely believe the team would stay up?
'We did, yeah, right up until we couldn't do any more. If you don't believe that then you're going to get battered every week. All the lads in that dressing room were up for it, and I mean up for it, big style. If you weren't, then you weren't in the team, because Joey and everyone could see it in your eyes. You have to keep battling on, and we did, but results didn't go for us.'

What was the atmosphere like after Hereford?
'Absolutely gutted. We all felt drained. We couldn't believe we lost. Gutted for the fans, and the manager. Unbelievable. But if it's not your day, it's not your day.'

Are you involved in any coaching activities?
'I'd like to be in the future, but there's no scope at Stafford at the moment. I just want to concentrate on playing. I don't have a job. I'm entirely focused on playing - I know it sounds bad on Stafford but I just want to get away from here and back into the League.'

Do you earn enough at Stafford to be comfortable?
'Well, I've also got an income, along with my girlfriend's father, from an electrical firm in Luton.'

You mention your girlfriend - any other significant others?
'A daughter, Charlotte - she's two now.'

That makes me feel old - I've got a granddaughter called Charlotte, aged three! Is Stafford handy for where you live?
'I'm a Crewe lad and I'm back there at the moment, looking for a house. But it's a bit expensive at present.'

What about the new proposals for a Conference Division Two? If things changed would you be happy to stay at Stafford?
'Getting back into the League is my goal at the moment.'

Realistically, how do you rate your chances?
'The longer I play at this level, the less chance there is. For example, you saw today how poor the pitch was.'

Was that why you were booked?
'Yeah - I went to tap the ball to the ref, it bobbled and shot off the pitch! I was booked for kicking the ball away.'

Do you find that, as an ex-professional, you get more abuse from opposition fans or extra attention on the pitch?
'I get some abuse from fans but I love it - bring them on! As for the players, they just want to kick you!'

Do you think too much money at the top level, and too little at the bottom, is ruining the game?
'The money being splashed about is ridiculous, I think, especially when it's being spent on transfer fees instead of developing home-grown talent.'

Memories of Wrexham supporters?
'Yeah, they were brilliant...Last time I was out in Wrexham they gave me a fabulous reception. I think I was a fans' favourite from time to time.'

Do you still see the players?
'Yes, Steve Thomas, Paul Barrett - my girlfriend is good friends with Paul's missus.'

Enjoy a drink?
'Yeah, I have a beer now and again, weekends, but I don't go overboard.'

What about your spare time?
'I go to the gym, spend time with the family - that's about all.'

One last question - Darren Ferguson was interviewed by Red Passion a while back and said that you never stop swearing. Is that true? (At this point our conversation was rudely interrupted by Grantham's MC starting to announce the sponsorship awards).
'F*****g hell! (Laughs uproariously) I do swear a lot - I don't realise I'm doing it half the time - it just comes out!'

Robin - thanks for your time. I mean it in the nicest possible way when I say I hope you won't be playing at Grantham next season! Best of luck.

Footnote: Sadly for Robin, the queue of players waiting to return to League football is a very long one. But it does seem a crying shame that such a committed, enthusiastic and pleasant lad (to say nothing of talented, if occasionally erratic) can't find a League club willing to take a chance and offer him a route back into the professional game, especially when you see lesser players in the lower echelons enjoying the comfort of contracts. Over to you, Messrs. Smith and Guterman?